Michael Keane happy with Burnley loan; Yacob focused on WBA

Manchester United defender Michael Keane believes his season-long loan move to Burnley will help his development.

The England Under-21 international made his English Premier League debut against Sunderland earlier this season, and was a member of United’s starting XI in the humiliating 4-0 defeat at MK Dons in the League Cup.

The 2014/15 campaign has already been a roller-coaster of emotion for Keane, but the coaster appears–slowly, but surely–to be escalating once again.

“I didn’t have a clue until about 5pm on deadline day, so it was all a bit of a rush and hectic but we managed to get the loan deal done in the end,” Keane told the Lancashire Telegraph.

“I’m very happy about it, it should be a great experience for me in the Premier League so I’m really looking forward to it.

“I feel it’s the next step in my progression at that level.

“I think I’ve done pretty well in the Championship over the last two seasons when I’ve been out on loan there.

“But I’ve only played once in the Premier League before, so I’m looking forward to making that next step and playing some more.”

It remains to be seen whether Keane will be a regular starter from the get-go. After all, Burnley manager Sean Dyche has named the same starting XI in each of the club’s first three league matches this season.

That said, the deadline day arrival of Chelsea midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah has also bolstered the Clarets’ squad ahead of their visit to Selhurst Park at the weekend.

Bottom-of-the-table Burnley are priced at 1/2 to suffer relegation to the Championship this season.

Yacob focused on WBA

West Bromwich Albion manager Alan Irvine is confident Claudio Yacob will remain focused on his role at the Hawthorns after staying in the West Midlands despite interest from several clubs abroad.

The speculation unsettled the Argentine; however, after speaking with Yacob, manager Alan Irvine determined the player is committed to West Brom, who signed him from Primera División side Racing Club de Avellaneda in the summer of 2012.

“We had a very casual chat about it and he just said, ‘Look, I know I’ve been unsettled and my head has been unsure what’s happening, but now I’m completely focused and I can just get on with being the best I can be’,” said Irvine.

“Don’t get me wrong, he’s been no problem on the training ground. He has been a perfect professional, but he’s had a bit of his mind wondering whether he’s going to be here or not, and that is unsettling.

“Claudio and his wife have also just had a baby over the summer so I’m guessing he’s been going home from here and his wife’s been saying ‘What’s happening, what do I need to do about the baby and where are we going?’.

“The mental side of any top-level sport is incredibly important.”

The bookmakers expect Albion to be one of the clubs involved in the relegation battle this season, and rightly so.

The club will need record signing Brown Ideye and the likes of Georgios Samaras and Silvestre Varela to provide an attacking threat if they are to stave off the drop.